The present invention relates generally to the deposition of traffic cones onto roadway surfaces, and more particularly to new and improved traffic cone setting devices, mechanisms, or apparatus for both semi-automatically and automatically depositing traffic cones at predeterminedly spaced locations of roadway surfaces in accordance with predeterminedly timed sequences.
Traffic cones are a ubiquitous sight upon the nation""s roadways whether they are being used, for example, to visually indicate to motorists either the presence of a construction site, to delineate and separate moving lanes of traffic from roadside work zones, to close particular street regions to oncoming traffic, or the like. As is well known, a supply of traffic cones is usually carried upon a roadwork truck or vehicle operated either by means of a local government agency or a subcontractor organization hired by the local government, and as is often the case, the traffic cones are manually deposited or placed upon the particular roadway by means of operators or workmen personnel who take individual traffic cones from a supply of such cones carried upon the roadwork truck or vehicle and place the individual traffic cones upon the roadway surface at predeterminedly spaced intervals along the particular route being travelled by the roadwork truck or vehicle. In accordance with one mode of operation, the operators or workmen personnel may be positioned upon one side of the roadwork truck or vehicle, and while effectively hanging onto, for example, a rail member, or similar support, of the roadwork truck or vehicle by means of one arm, the operator or workman places a traffic cone onto the roadway with his or her other arm. Alternatively, an individual operator or workman will often sit upon a rear bed, deck, or platform portion of the roadwork vehicle or truck so as to be capable of periodically depositing the traffic cones along the roadway as the roadwork vehicle or truck moves along the particular route along which the traffic cones are to be deposited.
As can readily be appreciated, the aforenoted well-known modes of operation present significant safety problems for the operators or workmen personnel in that the operators or workmen personnel are disposed in precarious positions or orientations upon the roadwork truck or vehicle. Incidents have in fact occurred, for example, during such traffic cone placement or deposition operations, wherein workmen or operator personnel have accidentally fallen from the trucks or vehicles and have either suffered serious injuries, or even worse, have suffered injuries which have proven to be fatal. These situations are not of course entirely unanticipated in view of the fact that sometimes unexpected events occur during movement of the roadwork truck or vehicle alongside ongoing traffic. These events may cause, for example, the particular roadwork truck or vehicle to undergo somewhat sudden movements comprising a change in direction, necessary braking or acceleration, or the like. In addition, it is sometimes difficult for the workmen personnel or operators to simultaneously pick up and then properly control the disposition and placement of the traffic cones onto the roadway surface in view of the fact that each traffic cone weighs at least ten pounds depending upon the particular cone and its size. All of such movements, and the weight force inherent to each traffic cone, can cause destabilizing forces to effectively be impressed upon or transmitted to the operators or workmen personnel which can of course lead to the aforenoted unfortunate injury or death situations to occur as a result of an operator or workman either losing his or her balance, or losing his or her hand-held grip upon the truck or vehicle support structure. Still further, the constant lifting and manipulation of the traffic cones is not ergonomically desirable from a health point of view for the operators or workmen personnel.
In order to overcome such operational drawbacks characteristic of manual procedures for depositing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces, several automated systems have been proposed such as those systems disclosed, for example, within U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,334 which issued to Akita et al. on Sep. 14, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,464 which issued to Nicholson et al. on May 25, 1993, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,648 which issued-to Luoma on Oct. 8, 1991. While all of such disclosed systems comprise systems for depositing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces, none of the systems disclose a magazine structure for enabling an operator to load a plurality of traffic cones into the system or means for automatically dispensing the traffic cones so as to place the cones at predeterminedly spaced locations upon the roadway surfaces.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved system or apparatus for depositing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces wherein as a result of the provision of such a system or apparatus, the operators or workmen personnel are not exposed to the dangers of oncoming traffic, and wherein further, the traffic cones can be readily, easily, and efficiently deposited without adversely affecting the workmen or operator personnel from an ergonomically healthful and non-fatiguing point of view.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide new and improved devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces.
Another object of the present invention is to provide new and improved devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces wherein the operationally unsafe conditions characteristic of conventional manual traffic cone deposition or placement techniques or procedures can be effectively overcome.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide new and improved devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces which comprise manual and semi-automatic devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus.
A further object of the present invention is to provide new and improved devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces which comprise manual and semi-automatic devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus which enable operators or workmen personnel to be positioned at a location or work station which is substantially safe in that the location or work station is positioned relatively remote from the sides or rear end section of the roadwork truck or vehicle such that operators or workmen personnel will not or cannot readily fall off the roadwork truck or vehicle and onto the roadway even if the roadwork truck or vehicle undergoes or experiences relatively sudden movements.
A last object of the present invention is to provide new and improved devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces which comprise manual and semi-automatic devices, mechanisms, systems, or apparatus which enable operators or workmen personnel to be positioned at a location or work station which is substantially safe in that the location or work station is positioned relatively remote from the sides or rear end section of the roadwork truck or vehicle such that operators or workmen personnel will not or cannot readily fall off the roadwork truck or vehicle and onto the roadway even if the roadwork truck or vehicle undergoes or experiences relatively sudden movements, and yet the individual operators or workmen can obviously control the deposition or placement of the traffic cones onto the roadway surfaces at predetermined locations and in accordance with desired timed sequence parameters or techniques.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a first embodiment of a new and improved device, mechanism, system, or apparatus, for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces at predeterminedly spaced locations thereof and in accordance with predeterminedly timed sequence techniques or parameters, which comprises a vertically oriented chute structure which is adjustably supported upon one side of the roadwork truck or vehicle. The vertically oriented chute structure has an arcuate configuration which subtends a 90xc2x0 angular extent such that an upstream portion thereof is oriented so as to extend vertically while a downstream portion thereof is oriented so as to extend horizontally. The chute structure is also integrally connected to a horizontally oriented magazine structure which is fixedly secured to a rear wall member or support of the roadwork truck or vehicle and which is adapted to house a plurality of traffic cones which can be manually placed or loaded therein by means of operator or workmen personnel. The traffic cones are disposed horizontally within the magazine structure, that is, the axes of the traffic cones, around which the three-dimensional structure of each traffic cone is defined, are oriented or extend horizontally, and accordingly, when a leading one of the traffic cones is manually moved from the horizontally oriented magazine structure into the vertically oriented chute structure, the traffic cone is initially disposed in a horizontal disposition or orientation at the upstream end portion of the chute structure. However, in view of the aforenoted arcuate configuration of the chute structure subtending its 90xc2x0 arcuate extent, as the traffic cone slides downwardly within the chute structure under the influence of gravity, its disposition, as defined by its axis, will effectively be converted from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation whereupon automatic release or discharge from the downstream end portion of the chute structure, the traffic cone will be automatically deposited onto the roadway in its desired stand-up vertical orientation with its base portion supporting the same upon the roadway.
In accordance with a second embodiment of a new and improved device, mechanism, system, or apparatus, for depositing or placing traffic cones onto roadway surfaces at predeterminedly spaced locations thereof and in accordance with predeterminedly desired timed sequence techniques or parameters, there is likewise provided the aforenoted horizontally oriented traffic cone magazine structure and vertically oriented chute structure, however, in lieu of the device, mechanism, system, or apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention being manually operated and controlled as has been noted hereinabove in accordance with the brief summary of the first embodiment of the present invention, the second embodiment of the present invention has incorporated therein a pair of alternatively or oppositely actuated pneumatic control means for automatically retaining and releasing the traffic cones at and from first upper READY and second lower DISCHARGE positions which are effectively located at the junction of the magazine section and the upper end portion of the vertically oriented chute. When the first upper pneumatic control means is extended so as to be capable of retaining a traffic cone at the upper READY position when a traffic cone is subsequently manually moved into the upper READY position, the second lower pneumatic control means is retracted so as to release a traffic cone, previously disposed at the lower DISCHARGE position, into the vertically oriented delivery chute. When the first upper pneumatic control means is subsequently retracted, while the second lower pneumatic control means is extended, a traffic cone, previously disposed at the upper READY position, is now released and moved to the lower DISCHARGE position, and is retained at such position by means of the extended second lower pneumatic control means. The operational cycle is then repeated so as to serially dispense or discharge a plurality of traffic cones into the vertically oriented delivery chute for deposition upon the roadway surface.